Economy – Page 7 – Really Right

What a Day: Elon Musk, Willie Brown, and Kirk Uhler Agree with Us

In addition to Modoc, Sutter, and Yuba counties, over the last few days Placer, San Joaquin, and El Dorado counties have also made moves to try to reopen their economies.

Placer County

Based on the requirements, Placer County won’t be in the first wave of counties to get the green light.
That’s upsetting some Placer officials. The county this week sent the governor a demand that he allow them to set their own reopening course.
“If we don’t see any action, we may be calling a special meeting to seek a legal injunction,” Placer County Board supervisor Kirk Uhler said on Thursday. Uhler said he believes the governor has overstepped his legal authority in effectively shutting down much of the economy and requiring people to stay mainly at home.
It could be the first county in California to pursue legal action against the state over Newsom’s stay-at-home orders.
Official threatens to sue Newsom if Placer County can’t reopen from the coronavirus shutdown

“It is not up to the governor at this point to say what the rules are. We are not in a state of emergency. Get out of our way,” said supervisor Kirk Uhler.
Uhler said Newsom is overstepping his authority by continuing to hold counties to the statewide order as businesses suffer.
Placer County supervisor to Newsom: ‘Get out of our way’

San Joaquin County

San Joaquin County has joined a growing list of communities applying for local control over reopening.
Business owners are desperate to open and pay their bills, but increasing coronavirus cases and deaths will make it tough to meet the governor’s requirements.
“We’re now getting to a desperate stage where our economy, in order to bounce back, is going to have to step up and go to work,” said Tom Patti.
San Joaquin County To Apply For Reopening Flexibility As Businesses Get Desperate

El Dorado County

This week, El Dorado County became one of the first in California to send a proposal to Gov. Gavin Newsom outlining plans to reopen key parts of its economy.
El Dorado County works to move faster through Stage 2 reopening plan

Tesla to Pull out of California

Hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he would pull the car maker’s plant from the Golden State, the company sued Alameda county, accusing officials of “defying” state laws by refusing to allow the facility to reopen.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a Twitter rant late on Saturday, that saw Musk branding California county’s chief health official “ignorant,” after the local authorities refused to give the company the green light to reopen its plant with more than 10,000 workers in Fremont due to coronavirus restrictions.
That was quick! Tesla files LAWSUIT against California county for not allowing factory to reopen after Musk threatens pullout

“I’m not messing around. Absurd & medically irrational behavior in violation of constitutional civil liberties, moreover by unelected county officials with no accountability, needs to stop,” Musk sounded off.
Backing up his words with deeds, Tesla wasted no time in filing a lawsuit, asking the court to declare the county-imposed ban on its operations “void and unenforceable,” while arguing that the Tesla factory has been a part of the state’s “critical infrastructure.”

Meanwhile Tesla’s Factory is open anyway

The parking lot was nearly full at Tesla’s California electric car factory Monday, a likely indication the company was resuming production in defiance of an order from county health authorities.
The lot at the massive plant in Fremont, which employs 10,000 workers, appeared to have a similar number of vehicles as it does when the factory is fully operating. A normal complement of workers would violate orders from the Alameda County Health Department, which has deemed Tesla’s Fremont factory a nonessential business that can’t open under restrictions intended to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Gov. Newsom Addresses Criticism Of Stay-At-Home Orders From Tesla Founder Elon Musk

Oh, Fox News has confirmed that Tesla’s Alameda County factory is open today without government permission.

LA Times Chimes In

Speaking of the Governor’s criteria to reopen…

The Times conducted an analysis to see which counties could pass just the first two criteria — whether deaths have stopped in the past 14 days, and whether there is no more than one case per 10,000 residents in that same time period. Most of California failed that test.
In fact, 95% of Californians live in counties that don’t meet that standard, The Times analysis found. Not a single county in Southern California nor the San Francisco Bay Area met the criteria.
The 24 counties that did meet the criteria, for the two-week period that ended Thursday, are all in Northern California and most are sparsely populated.
The three largest counties meeting both criteria are Placer County, population 380,000, northeast of Sacramento; Santa Cruz County, population 274,000, south of San Jose; and Butte County, population 227,000, in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada.
Most California counties fall short of reopening criteria as coronavirus cases climb

Willie Brown

But so far, the authorities who have locked us in have yet to figure out how to get us out.
If they don’t figure it out soon, the public is going to find a way to get out on its own.
In fact, some counties and some professions are already opening up.
And trying to keep businesses from opening with threats of suspending their liquor licenses or cosmetologist licenses won’t work — not on a mass scale that would be needed if many people start to say: enough.
The goal of the shutdown was to curb the coronavirus and keep the hospitals from being swamped.
We kept the hospitals working, but we have yet to curb the virus and a vaccine is probably at least a year away.
In the meantime, we’re headed over the economic cliff and facing unemployment numbers the likes of which we have never seen before.
This can’t go on. California has to figure a way out

One Trillion Dollar Bailout

Ok, let me get this straight, California is projecting a 56-billion-dollar budget hole since they don’t want to reopen and then they asking Donald Trump and Congress to bail them out for twenty times that amount? ONE TRILLION DOLLARS Reasonable people should respond, “WTF?” Based on last year’s budget, such a bailout would allow the State to operate as usual for five years while their citizens continue to shelter in place. And my poor pastor thinks Gavin will be opening his church for worship in two weeks, dream-on both of you.

California and other Western states are asking the federal government for $1 trillion in relief for states and local governments amid the coronavirus pandemic and massive budget shortfalls that have followed.
Newsom: Western states asking feds for $1 trillion in aid

Conclusion

Folks Gavin Newsom is being forced to do something no Democrat likes to do, face reality. Government doesn’t create jobs, wealth, or economic activity only the hard work of the private sector. When you’ve lost Willie Brown and Elon Musk in very public ways, it makes you wonder who has privately broken with the Governor. If you needed proof government was the problem and not the solution, you’re living it now. Oh, at his press conference last week, Newsom was lamenting that California didn’t have the power to print fiat money like Uncle Sam. As Maggie Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money.”

Final thought, in both New York and California, you are seeing the leading candidates for President in 2024 self-destruct before either declares for the office.

Newsom Uses Power of the Sword to Shakedown Modoc, Sutter, and Yuba Counties

In the wake of the highest nationwide unemployment numbers since the Great Depression, the Governor has threatened to withhold State money from Modoc, Sutter, and Yuba counties because they dare to go back to work. Please remember that Modoc has had exactly ZERO CASES of Covid-19 and is operating under the same rules as Los Angeles County which has half the cases in the State.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is warning three counties that they could lose disaster funding if they continue to defy his stay-at-home order.
Officials in Yuba, Sutter and Modoc counties have all allowed businesses to reopen because they have fewer coronavirus cases than other parts of the state.
The director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services sent a letter to the three counties on Thursday warning they might lose their eligibility for the funding.
A spokesman for Yuba and Sutter counties said local leaders are working to do what is best for the overall health of their communities.
California governor warns 3 counties could lose disaster aid

But that’s not all. Newsom has deployed every regulatory agency at his disposal to threaten businesses in these counties that dare to open without permission regardless of what precautions these people are taking or what their working conditions may be. In fact, nobody is actually checking up on them or determining the facts on the ground, state agencies are simply going thru their Rolodex and cold calling everyone and making threats.

YUBA/SUTTER COUNTIES (CBS13) – A number of businesses in Yuba and Sutter counties are rethinking their reopenings after being contacted by state agencies that could revoke their licenses.
Hairdresser Amy Johnson believes she may be one of the few cosmetologists still working in the surrounding area. Many, including some of her own staff at Rockabetty Salon in Yuba City, are afraid of sanctions the state could impose.
“Everyone is scared to open because of the vague statement and the phone calls from the board,” Johnson said.
Some Yuba-Sutter Businesses Choose To Close After Being Contacted By State Agencies

“I just note there’s 33 salons that shut down in two counties in the last couple days similarly because they got a call from some of our state officials saying, “Is this the best thing for your employees? Is this the best thing for public health and your community?” Newsom said.
Johnson got those calls, too, but explained all the steps she was taking to protect her customers and staff.
Her clients must wear masks, disinfect their hands and shoes before entering her salon, answer COVID-19 related questions at the door, sign a waiver and space out once inside. Johnson says she’s operating under local county guidelines, and all of her customers are out within 30 minutes.
“Lots of haircuts and lots of people walking out with wet hair having to come back for a second appointment,” she said. “Our county order is lifted so I feel confident in working.”
Krankin Hanks owner Henry Stuevie feels that confidence, too. But he chose to close his bar down, once Alcohol Beverage Control came knocking.
“Gavin Newsom got mad at Yuba-Sutter so he sent out what he has control over, the liquor license,” Stuevie said. “We were allowing to come in, sit down order dinner, have a beer. Have a drink if you want.”
He was ready to let the liquor flow at his Marysville bar when Yuba and Sutter counties decided to reopen some businesses again at the beginning of the week until ABC came by. He said the conversation was friendly, but the ordinance he was delivered by them had a different tone, calling them disorderly and saying he could lose his liquor license if he continued on.
“Just the threat of taking my liquor license was enough for me to say I can’t lose it,” Stuevie said. “It took me two years to get it, and this would be a useless building without it.”

When you live in a one-party state, and that Party thinks government is their god, they will compel obedience or else. To them, politics is simply an exercise of raw power. Their job is to make rules for us which somehow, they tend to be exempted from, funny how that part works. We end up with tyrants and tyranny every time we exchange liberty for security, even from a virus.

Is Dr. Anthony Fauci Part of the Problem?

By Chief

Before anyone gets the tone of this blog incorrect, I am not denying Dr. Anthony Fauci’s medical background or his work on the AIDS/HIV virus back in the day, I am merely pointing out statements he has made at press conferences over the past several months.

Dr. Fauci is a very accomplished man, and at the ripe age of 79 I hope I have a fraction of his enthusiasm and energy he exhibits daily. There is literally no end to when, where and how that this Dr. will go to give an interview, heck he did one during the NFL draft on ESPN. He is literally the Energizer Bunny but in human form! He has always been at Trump’s side during pressers, disagreeing sometimes, but that must be tough to be there almost daily and sharing a podium with “The Donald.” While our readers may say Trump is right or wrong on this disease one thing is for certain, Fauci has been all over the place. Just check these quotes from his press conferences out:

Editor’s Note: The Chief gave me a bare timeline for this blog entry, and I went back and found backup for each of his bullet points. As is my practice, I try to give you enough to show the comments are in context.

Early January he said we had nothing to worry about from this virus mostly based on current models (AKA the death (projections)

01/21/2020

Fauci said, “Obviously, you need to take it seriously and do the kind of things the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the Department of Homeland Security is doing. But this is not a major threat to the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.”
Fact-check: Did Fauci say coronavirus was ‘nothing to worry about’?

01/23/2020

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says in a Journal of the American Medical Association podcast that the U.S. wouldn’t implement draconian shutdowns of cities like what was occurring in China: “There’s no chance in the world that we could do that to Chicago or to New York or to San Francisco, but they’re doing it. So, let’s see what happens.”
Coronavirus timeline shows politicians’, media’s changing rhetoric on risk of pandemic

01/26/2020

“The American people should not be worried or frightened by this. It’s a very, very low risk to the United States,” Fauci says on The CATS Roundtable. “It isn’t something that the American public needs to worry about or be frightened about.”
Coronavirus timeline shows politicians’, media’s changing rhetoric on risk of pandemic

On Jan. 26, Fauci gave an interview to John Catsimatidis, a syndicated radio host in New York. “What can you tell the American people about what’s been going on?” Catsimatidis asked. “Should they be scared?”
“I don’t think so,” Fauci said. “The American people should not be worried or frightened by this. It’s a very, very low risk to the United States, but it’s something we, as public health officials, need to take very seriously.”
Fact-check: Did Fauci say coronavirus was ‘nothing to worry about’?

01/27/2020

But the following day, Jan. 27, Fauci was criticizing the lack of Chinese transparency, pointing in particular to new information that asymptotic individuals could be spreading the virus. Despite this, he continued to cite airport screening of travelers from China as the primary defense against it spreading to the U.S.
Virus Experts’ Early Statements Belie ‘Prescient’ Portrayal

02/17/2020

Fauci announces that the risk of coronavirus infection in the U.S. is “miniscule,” according to USA Today. Fauci, one of the top experts in the field and a senior White House coronavirus adviser, also told the paper that people shouldn’t wear masks unless they are contagious.
Coronavirus timeline shows politicians’, media’s changing rhetoric on risk of pandemic

“If you look at the masks that you buy in a drug store, the leakage around that doesn’t really do much to protect you,” he said. “People start saying, ‘Should I start wearing a mask?’ Now, in the United States, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to wear a mask.”
Top disease official: Risk of coronavirus in USA is ‘minuscule’; skip mask and wash hands

Fauci doesn’t want people to worry about coronavirus, the danger of which is “just minuscule.” But he does want them to take precautions against the “influenza outbreak, which is having its second wave.”
Top disease official: Risk of coronavirus in USA is ‘minuscule’; skip mask and wash hands

Fauci offered advice for people who want to protect against the “real and present danger” of seasonal flu, which also would protect against the hypothetical danger of coronavirus.
Top disease official: Risk of coronavirus in USA is ‘minuscule’; skip mask and wash hands

02/29/2020

Fauci said we didn’t have to change our way of life one bit. Oh, also on this date was what at the time was the first reported Corona death in the United States.

“No. Right now, at this moment, there’s no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day by day basis. Right now the risk is still low, but this could change. I’ve said that many times even on this program. You’ve got to watch out because although the risk is low now, you don’t need to change anything you’re doing.”
Tweet amplified by Trump misleads on Fauci’s late-February advice

03/08/2020

Fauci claimed we didn’t need to wear masks as the virus science showed it didn’t help.

“There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask,” infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told 60 Minutes.
While masks may block some droplets, Fauci said, they do not provide the level of protection people think they do. Wearing a mask may also have unintended consequences: People who wear masks tend to touch their face more often to adjust them, which can spread germs from their hands.
But there is another risk to healthy people buying disposable masks as a precaution. The price of face masks is surging, and Prestige Ameritech, the nation’s largest surgical mask manufacturer, is now struggling to keep up with the increased demand.
“It could lead to a shortage of masks for the people who really need it,” Fauci said.
Preventing coronavirus: Should you wear a face mask?

The “draconian” quarantine measures taken by China, while they’ve worked to prevent a broader advance of the disease beyond Wuhan province, are “something we never would be able to do” in the U.S., he added. Italy also imposed more stringent travel restrictions early Sunday.
“I don’t imagine that the degree of the draconian nature of what the Chinese did would ever be either feasible, applicable, doable or whatever you want to call it in the United States,” Fauci said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that will be broadcast on Sunday, according to a partial transcript provided by the network.
Top health official Anthony Fauci predicts ‘social distancing’ as outbreak continues

03/09/2020

Fauci went as far as saying young folks and healthy folks should go on a cruise. Yes, he said cruise.

“If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship.”
COVID-19 Travel Update: Fauci Says Cruising Is OK If You Are Healthy

Also on this day, Fauci remarks that going to campaign rallies may not be a bad idea: “You know, I can’t comment on campaign rallies. It really depends. We are having as we all said — this is something in motion. This is an evolving thing. So I’m not sure what we’re going to be able to say at the time we’re going to have a campaign rally. If you’re talking about a campaign rally tomorrow, in a place where there is no community spread, I think the judgment to have it might be a good judgment. [But] if you want to talk about large gatherings in a place you have community spread, I think that’s a judgment call, and if someone decides they want to cancel it, I wouldn’t publicly criticize them.”
Coronavirus timeline shows politicians’, media’s changing rhetoric on risk of pandemic

3/15/2020

After Trump allowed Fauci to recommend others for the task force, Fauci did a complete 180. He said we needed extreme social distancing, wear masks in public, and shut the economy down.

Dr. Antony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urged Americans to shut down more aggressively as the coronavirus spreads.
On MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” Mr. Fauci endorsed a 14-day “national shutdown” to help slow down the virus. He explained that he has brought it up with the administration, which is generally open to his ideas.
Dr. Anthony Fauci urges ‘national shutdown’ as coronavirus spreads

03/17/2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health’s infectious diseases chief, on Sunday said it’s “possible” the nation would experience a reported “worst-case scenario” of up to 1.7 million deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Fauci: Worst-Case Scenario Of Up To 1.7M Deaths From Coronavirus ‘Possible’

Imperial College predicts up to 2.2 million deaths in USA

Epidemiologists at Imperial College in London released a report on Monday that shocked government officials in the UK and the US. Unless drastic measures are taken immediately to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the scientists say deaths from the virus could reach 2.2 million in the United States and 510,000 in the UK. More ambitious measures could cut both numbers in half, but the crisis will not be resolved completely until a vaccine is available — a process that could easily take 18 months or more.
Imperial College Epidemiologists Report Forecasts Up To 2.2 Million COVID-19 Deaths In US, 510,000 In UK

03/26/2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, stressed Sunday that mitigation measures implemented to flatten the number of new coronavirus cases are vital to stopping the U.S. “from becoming an Italy.”
“The kinds of mitigation issues that are going on right now, the things that we’re seeing in this country, this physical separation at the same time as we’re preventing an influx of cases coming in, I think that’s going to go a long way to preventing us from becoming an Italy,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told “Face the Nation.”
Fauci says social distancing over coronavirus can stop U.S. from “becoming an Italy”

To stop the spread of the coronavirus, public health officials have urged Americans to implement social distancing and limit their social gatherings.
Fauci says social distancing over coronavirus can stop U.S. from “becoming an Italy”

Just for perspective, WHO chimed into the echo chamber

…March 26, the World Health Organization tweeted: “If you do not have any respiratory symptoms, such as fever, cough, or runny nose, you do not need to wear a medical mask. When used alone, masks can give you a false feeling of protection and can even be a source of infection when not used correctly.”
Experts’ advice on virus inconsistent, often wrong

03/29/2020

Dr. Fauci on CNN

“I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases,” he said, correcting himself to say he meant deaths. “We’re going to have millions of cases.” But he added “I don’t want to be held to that” because the pandemic is “such a moving target.”
Dr. Fauci predicts 100K to 200K Americans will die from COVID-19

03/31/2020

If you’re not sick with the new coronavirus, should you wear a mask in public? Global health authorities say no.
Should you wear mask in public if not sick with coronavirus?

Earlier in the day, Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, had told CNN that once there are enough masks, there might be “some very serious consideration” about broadening the mask recommendations.
For now, the advice posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website: “If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a face mask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a face mask).”
Should you wear mask in public if not sick with coronavirus?

04/06/2020

Fauci claimed 2.4 million would die in the USA alone by August, that number has been all over the place since, as low as 61k and now back to about 135k.

The White House unveiled that their goal for community mitigation, where the curve is supposedly flattened, that an estimated 100,000-240,000 people will die from the virus, which is a stark contrast from the 1.5-2.2 million estimated deaths without taking any precautions.
White House Weekly: April 6

“Why am I not wearing a face mask now? There are a couple of reasons,” Fauci responded when a reporter questioned why he doesn’t wear the covering at a Sunday press conference.
“One of them is part of the, in fact the major reason to wear a face mask is to protect you from infecting you,” he said, as he pointed to people in the gallery of the room.
“I had my test and it’s negative,” he added.
IN THE CLEAR Top doc Fauci tests negative for coronavirus and explains why he doesn’t wear a mask

4/08/2020

Fauci claimed we won’t be shaking hands ever again, as the virus is too easily spread.

Absolutely no more handshakes, even after we’ve defeated this virus. “As a society, just forget about shaking hands,” Fauci said during a new television interview.
Dr. Fauci says we should never shake hands again, even when this pandemic is over

04/17/2020

Fauci said sex hookups on Tinder etc were fine as long as both parties knew of the risks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Americans could meet people they matched with on dating apps if they were “willing to take a risk” with their health and the wellbeing of others.
Dr. Fauci says you can meet a tinder date ‘if you’re willing to take a risk’

Look, we aren’t here to discredit the good Dr. All I want to do is point out Fauci has been all over the place throwing out info. To make matters worse as discussed in this space before, we as a people are hungry for any info spit out by a person with the salutation “Dr.” in front of their name. Look at the misinformation that has come out of just his mouth alone! His answers run the gamut. Yet the media hordes hang on this Fauci guys every word as if he is some charming sage. So, we go from nothing to worry about to full blown panic, to don’t shake hands, shut down the economy to go ahead and have sex with a complete stranger? And folks wonder why the toilet paper and other items are gone at the store. The 90 day types and cable watchers have had more mood swings than a young girl who just got her first period. It’s been awful for us sane folks to watch. Think horrific car accident, you try to look away, but you can’t.

Now let us examine Fauci a little closer. First, he like these other “medical director” types have not seen a patient in decades. Fauci is a research doctor to spends most of his time reading through other doctor’s writings and research. This may explain him literally being all over the place. In addition did you know he has a net worth of over 500 million? He does, so don’t worry about him or his family during these times, they are very well taken care of. Like the other folks telling you to stay home while you face a prospect of rent being 2 months past due by the way. He also is a Clintonite by the way, and pals around with elites almost exclusively. Maybe the Clinton’s are telling him to shut things down longer or he may take a dirt nap? Think about it, the Clinton’s have “offed” people for far less, and when you look at the citations above it could be a theory.

Again, in closing, Fauci is a very smart man, who is eloquent of speech, he did lots of great things with the HIV/AIDS some time ago, but he is clearly out of his league here. I think Trump should remove him from the briefings and allow him to hit the cable news circuit. I am sorry but the misinformation on this virus is causing way more harm than help. How else can one explain why William and I cannot shake hands anymore, yet a week later tell the “Troll” he can swipe left on Tinder until he finds Hope Hicks and the two of them can engage in “relations?” Also I want Johnnie Does to do food reviews at actual restaurants again, not just take out. He needs to stay in his lane and quit blogging politics.

The Chief

Newsom Grip on California Crumbles

After leaving his gig as lead singer for Kansas, John Elefante and his brother Dino composed a song which begins

“This world is goin’ crazy and I’m ready to scream”
Love Inhalation (1989).

Folks that about summarizes my view of the madness of Covid-19; especially, here in California.

Folks, nobody is listening to our Governor. No, I’ll get to the protesters in a minute. What Newsom actually says in his press conferences about a timeline is unreported by the media. Take this from the beginning of his remarks on April 27th.

The likelihood of having a virus-free world is not realistic in the next number of months. We’ll look forward to that day as herd immunity comes into effect and we have a vaccine that we can distribute and make available to hundreds of millions of people across this country, billions around the rest of the globe. Until then, we have to manage it. We have to manage risks. We have to manage and augment our behavior.
Gavin Newson Covid-19 Press Conference 04/27/2020

Folks, Governor Newsom keeps saying this each time Covid-19 comes up. Read the quote again carefully this time especially “We’ll look forward to that day as herd immunity comes into effect and we have a vaccine that we can distribute and make available to hundreds of millions of people across this country…”

Herd Immunity

Folks, Gavin is redefining terms here so let me explain. Herd Immunity is when enough people in a population have had a disease that it is no longer able to keep being passed to new hosts. Depending on what you read, this number is believed to be between 40 to 60 percent of the population. If enough people get an illness, it will die-out on its own. Please note that in many places, as we have reported previously, antibody testing for Covid-19 is showing that about 35 percent of people are positive for the antibodies. Can we say they are within a short span of claiming herd immunity in their communities?

Back when Barack Obama was President, H1N1 infected 60.8 million people (range per CDC: 43.3-89.3 million) before it died-out in 2009. Folks, the math is that about 20 percent of the population had H1N1 during this pandemic. Just to be sure it was stamped-out, the following flu season 2009-2010, people were encouraged to get the vaccine.

Oh, as I’m writing this, look at this nugget from Wikipedia.

By April 2010, it was apparent that most of the vaccine was not needed. The US government had bought 229 million doses of H1N1 vaccines of which 91 million doses were used; of the surplus, some of it was stored in bulk, some of it was sent to developing countries and 71 million doses were destroyed. The World Health Organization is planning to examine if it overreacted to the H1N1 outbreak.
2009 swine flu pandemic vaccine

When you read, “The World Health Organization is planning to examine if it overreacted to the H1N1 outbreak.” Does it ring any bells given the current overreaction?

No, I didn’t forget about Gavin. My point is that it takes an incredible amount of time and effort to come up with a vaccine. In the case of H1N1, which did see the successful development of a vaccine, mutations from the original strain were few and occurred in later years. Two mutations to H1N1 were found in a 2015 outbreak of H1N1 in India. These mutations decreased the effectiveness of the vaccine.

By contrast, as we documented here previously, in the relatively short period of time that Covid-19 has been outside the Wuhan laboratory (about 6 months), 30 mutations have thus far been documented. Again, here in the United States, the West Coast strain is different than the one ravaging New York. Oh, this may be an outlier, but a British newspaper is reporting that we may not have a vaccine for Covid-19 until 2036.

Three possible outcomes exist for the current pandemic: either the Covid-19 flu goes away by itself which makes it possible that it may reemerge in the fall, enough people get it that herd immunity develops on its own, or we shelter in place until a vaccine is created. Newsom is defining herd immunity as the point when a vaccine is able to be mass produced and deployed worldwide and advocating that we hide in our homes until then. Yep. This will go on for many more months if he has his way. Look at my original quote.

Until then, we have to manage it. We have to manage risks. We have to manage and augment our behavior.

The key phrase is “augment our behavior.” i.e. no business as usually until a vaccine.

Lest you think I’m overreacting look at this poorly publicized nugget from KOVR TV.

More than 50 days in, California is still in what’s considered phase one of the governor’s four-phase plan. That means if pacing continues, the shelter-in-place order won’t be lifted until October.
The Toll Of Reopening Timeline: No End In Sight For Area Businesses, Families

Do you believe that we will willingly shelter in place until October? Nonessential workers can you go 8 months without working and paying your bills? That is what you are expected to do. Once the November election is over and Donald Trump is voted out, California will them magically return to “normal.” Color me suspicious but welcome to the 2020 campaign.

I know that skeptics occasionally read the blog and give my staff trouble about what they think are our tin foil hat ideas, but these folks need to open their eyes. The cost benefit ratio does not justify the economic pain our ruling class is inflicting on their citizens in the name of safety. California has a reputation for lavishly giving out goodies to people on the fringes of society like free hotel rooms for the homeless and welfare to illegal aliens, but they have shutoff the tax money spigot to the State coffers and want to double down on this nonsense? California’s biggest tax revenue streams are personal income taxes and sale taxes. Both require economic activity that has been banned in our State.

Counties are Rising Up

Can you see why people are starting to protest and defy the Governor? Thank God for Modoc County.

One California county has had enough of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Modoc County, a rural area that borders Oregon, announced that they will be reopening businesses and churches despite the Democratic governor’s orders. The county has had no cases of the coronavirus since the outbreak began, prompting the county health officer, sheriff-coroner, chair of the Board of Supervisors, and other county officials to announce that it would be reopening Friday.
California county with no coronavirus cases plans to reopen despite Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order

Following on the heals of Modoc, two other counties are doing likewise. The pioneer to take the lead in this region of California was the Upper Cut barber shop.

Despite county and state stay-at-home orders, Randy Mitchell decided to keep his Marysville barbershop Upper Cut open.
“I told them (police) take me to jail because that is the only way you are going to stop me from operating,” Mitchell said.
On Friday, there were no empty chairs inside his barbershop. Booked with customers, there wasn’t much room for social distancing. Mitchell recently received a $1,000 fine from Marysville police after being cited for not following orders.
“If another American chooses to do business with me that’s that American’s choice. I’m not going to tell somebody that they have to stay six feet apart from me, that they have to wear masks and gloves,” he said.
Mitchell feels he had no other choice but to stay open, fearing closing would shut his business down for good. Customers in the packed barbershop said they are happy to support him.
Yuba, Sutter Counties Set To Reopen Despite Governor’s Order; Some Businesses Already Open

Because this man was willing to endue the citation for $1,000, other businesses in the region are opening starting Monday May 4th.

More businesses in Yuba and Sutter Counties starting Monday could follow the shop’s lead. The Yuba-Sutter Heath Officer, Dr. Phuong Luu, announced Friday businesses like malls, salons, gyms and restaurants can reopen starting next week.
Businesses who are considered “low risk” by Dr. Luu can reopen if they follow social distancing recommendations. The new local order conflicts with Governor Newsom’s plan to wait to reopen similar businesses.

Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris told CNN Friday, reopening is essential for his city that is struggling to feed their families.
“We don’t want to defy anything but with the statewide order. The numbers are quite different here locally. We would just like to have some local control and make our decisions for our local folks here,” Harris said.

Folks, here’s the choice you have, wait to be taken care of by the government until at least October or man-up and get to work now. God gave you skills, will you use ‘em or lose ‘em?

Please note that last week, seven counties in northern California wanted to open. Modoc decided it was better to seek forgiveness than permission while the other six counties that asked the Governor for permission got no response. Of these two have decided to open.

Officials from six rural Northern California counties and 14 small cities have urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to let them reopen their economies, marking the most significant push-back yet from local leaders of a mandatory stay-at-home order in its second month that has left 3 million people out of work.
Of the 500,000 people who live in Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Colusa, Tehama and Glenn counties, only 69 have confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Rural Northern California counties seek to reopen economy

Oh, for you political types out there, here’s my suggestion for a way to hit Newsom in a political ad.

One of the counties that Newsom has not allowed to reopen is Butte. You all know Butte County because guess what city is in that county? Paradise. Remember the one that burned to a crisp in a matter of hours? The one Governors Brown and Newsom promised to move heaven and earth to rebuild. Yep that Paradise is shutdown and not allowed to reopen. How’s them for optics? How can you proclaim, “Rebuild Paradise” and then tell a community without houses for their citizens to “shelter in place?”

Then there are the beach protests and others around the State. Gavin is losing his grip.

Closing Thoughts

Note to Gavin, we will put up with a lot of crap from you politicians but when you directly threaten our livelihoods and families, you better brace for pushback. Many of us are beyond the point to further enduring this nonsense. Dr. Fauci, W.H.O., et al., were wrong. It’s time to end this and get back to work. The at-risk folks know who they are and what to do so quit punishing the rest of us. Recess is over, everybody back to work.

Final and random thought: Isn’t wearing a mask now a days like wearing a ribbon on your lapel was 20 years ago? It doesn’t do anything except make you feel better because you care more than people without one. Symbolism over substance.

Haves vs Have Nots

By Chief

With the coronavirus lockdown continuing until at least May 31, as announced by the Bay Area Counties today, I wanted to examine a new kind of income inequality being created by the government’s ruling class. I was always told when I was younger there were two classes haves and have nots, and that it was capitalism’s fault. Most of my classmates believed it, and as I went through college (also known as finishing school in Europe) all my classmates believed capitalism was the cause of this inequality. Fast forward 10 years and we get government sponsored class warfare. Yes, indeed we do with the government declaring what is essential and non-essential. The economic winners picked by government can continue working while the rest, currently north of 26 million people, are kept in lockdown and essentially under house arrest. This arbitrary situation is furthering the divide not helped it.

Since we are now looking at a June 1st opening date at the very earliest, let’s examine what that means for non-essential workers.

They will now be missing at least 4 pay checks (2 in April, and May)
Be late/past due on potentially 2 months of rent/mortgage and car payments
Likely 60 days’ worth of credit card charges/money borrowed at a large interest clip
Student Loans might give you an extra 90 days and then what

In short, significant stress and anxiety about the future.

Even if we take the above at face value, and include a government stimulus of $1,200 plus, and maybe rent/mortgage forbearance, this is a recipe for chaos. Imagine having young children cooped up, yourself included, also a spouse. Nothing to do but look at four walls and a roof…. keep in mind the park may be open, but the jungle gym is closed. How do you keep the kids sane, and the marriage on an even footing? Just because it’s a special circumstance does not stop the past due notices from coming monthly since the mail still comes every day. If you own payments an asset that can be repossessed/foreclosed on, rest assured the lender will make all attempts to re-coup their investment.

Meanwhile, both groups are eligible for the stimulus check and the deal offered by the mortgage company for a year of no payments due to Covid-19.

Contrast that with an essential worker. That person may be required to work, likely under different circumstances, but they remain on the payroll. Essential workers get a pretty sweet deal if you ask me because they receive both the benefits of working and the benefits of the nonessential. Think about the extra money that can be banked while household payments are put off, maybe even interest free?

Which camp would you rather be in? Keep in mind if you were declared a non-essential business you must keep your doors locked. Your landlord may not be quite so forgiving, and one thing is certain, your auto finance lender may be processing re-po paperwork and having it ready.

In closing, this is not to say the haves will be wealthy, as that is not and will not be true. It is strictly to point out that the haves will be able to retain their current lifestyle while the have nots will not be so lucky. As things currently stand, short of an exceptionally large government stimulus on a monthly re-occurring basis, the have nots will not make it out of this is decent shape. Think of it like the banking/financial/credit crisis of 2006-10. Once again if you are not a chosen member of the government class or “essential” to the economy, remember too big to let fail, your life will be forever flipped upside down.

I say forever because many young folks may have placed a down payment on a house, ditto for a car, and now by the power of a few in our government, they are experiencing the loss of everything. Life is in transition as they go from a house in a decent part of town to a studio apartment in a not so nice part; from 2 nice cars, to 1 commuter class car. Their credit is shot, and they may soon be trying to retain a bankruptcy attorney to charge off credit card bills. Mind you the payments could all be made while working, but due to a government mandated shutdown, they were wiped out.

To add insult to injury, any government aid will likely continue to aid everyone, both essential and non-essential. Causing a greater void among those who have, and those who have not.

Keep in mind, the May 31st date to stay under lockdown is a sliding scale, as it has already been pushed back twice. (Editor’s Note: while editing this post, local station KOVR is saying that the stay at home order may not be lifted until October.) In addition, we’ve already witnessed firework shows on July 4th as well as the county and state fairs cancelled. The State Fair typically happens toward the end of July to beginning of August.

I spoke with a couple folks with connections to the Governor and they feel July will be a reasonable time to “open up the economy in tranches.” Oh, by the way; religious services/ball games/and restaurants are near the end of the line, so plan on being long-term out of work; all while folks who are essential continue to remain employed/thriving.

Chief

Why Do We Dislike Cable?

By Johnnie Does

I have had a few friends of mine, who read the blog, ask me why the editorial staff seems to have a strong dislike toward cable? The answer really comes down to affirmation or information. Let’s face it, most of us do not embrace debate; we live in our own echo chambers. We seek out folks on television who affirm our beliefs; as such if you lean right you pick Fox News, lean left you pick the rest of the alphabet: MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CNN, NPR, or some other network. In the end, you witness the same behavior of the host talking over, interrupting, or asking a question in such a way that the opposing view cannot answer it. As this behavior is played-out by the host of your choice, you nod your head up and down or worse yet you do not even vet that “so called Dr.” who was on during the last segment. As a result, you began mistaking “opinion or commentary” with hard news shows and because of that you summarily dismiss the other side.

Let’s tie this into the COVID-19 fiasco.

At first, the networks really did not pick up on the threat posed by this virus. Instead what they reported back in January was that President Trump was a racist because he wanted to stop international flights from certain countries and there were not enough minorities on his Covid-19 task force.

Moving forward slightly, Tucker Carlson spent an entire week saying our government was lying to us and this virus is far worse than thought. Meanwhile, MSNBC and CNN started reporting that the corona virus came from bat soup at a wet market in Wuhan, China. At first, they called it the “Wuhan virus” or “Wuhan flu” but somewhere along the way they decided that we could not refer to it by that name or say that it originated in China because that was racist.

Then the narrative turned into claims that this virus could kill you within a short period of time. In essence, if I contracted Corona on Friday, over the weekend William would be saying goodbye to me via Facetime or Zoom, and I would be dead come Monday. Like much reported about the virus, this was subsequently discredited.

Then came the lies and propaganda about healthcare rationing, and the bizarre theories that folks were dying waiting in line to be tested at the local clinic. Remember the claims that next week or the week after, we will be just like Italy with so many dead there will be no place to put the bodies. Oh, and hundreds of thousands will die because of an acute shortage of ventilators, thus the mantra to flatten the curve.

Next thing you know, we are shutting down entire states based on fear, not science or anything else supported by actual evidence. Suddenly Dr. Anthony Fauci is front, and center on our televisions and we are hanging on his every word as if he was Moses leading us thru the perils of the Covid wilderness.

Then came the models. These models promised that life as we knew it was over. The “experts” assured us that Covid-19 was the next Spanish Flu. This was the one the experts have been warning us about, well it’s here and we are woefully unprepared. The models were showing that over 2 million will die in the USA within a few weeks. From the New York Times March 20, 2020

Now we get to the other end of the range of possibilities. Dr. Neil M. Ferguson, a British epidemiologist who is regarded as one of the best disease modelers in the world, produced a sophisticated model with a worst case of 2.2 million deaths in the United States.
I asked Ferguson for his best case. “About 1.1 million deaths,” he said.
When that’s a best-case scenario, it’s difficult to feel optimistic.
The Best-Case Outcome for the Coronavirus, and the Worst

Once these predictions began to ring hollow, the threat was revised down to several hundred thousand dead. Again, the mysterious model was revised to show deaths now peaking at 250K souls. Another week or so passes and the faceless model is now projecting that around 60k will likely die.

The 60K number seems to be consistent over the last few weeks but let’s look at that number for a minute. 60K dying from flu is at the top of the normal range of flu deaths in an average year. What they aren’t telling you is that 60K people a year die in the US from each of the following: alcoholism, drug overdose, suicide, and car wrecks. Why is it that we are willing to live a “normal life” with these morbidity rates but one death from Covid-19 is reason enough to shutdown most economic activity in our country of 330 million? Dear readers, Planned Parenthood kills may times that amount every year using your tax dollars, but they are declared “essential” and can keep operating, more on this later.

What is even worse is how cable has been acting during the last ten days. Tucker, Hannity et. al. on Fox are crying to reopen the entire economy and are seemingly declaring the pandemic over, even going as far as suggesting folks protest the decision to keep the shelter in place going. On the other networks, they are making fun of said protestors and saying we must keep things on lockdown except for essential services for many months. Basically, this goes back to my main point again, if you like the current occupant of the White House, open things back up, if you don’t then keep things closed down.

Folks the truth is that no one knows what is going to happen down the road. Those of you thinking that you are going to find the answer on cable television are kidding yourselves. There is a very uncertain future ahead for our country. Many networks are advocating for a prolonged shutdown because the dread models show that this fall the virus will come back more potent than ever, just like the Spanish Flu. Truthfully, it’s just pure speculation.

The virus has the healthcare system completely baffled because the behavior is not what the “experts” expected. Think of it this way, you can tell when someone has the common cold, flu, etc. but with this virus most folks, as William has referenced in his blogs, never even have any symptoms! Sounds like this thing is a silent killer of only those who have compromised immune systems, are elderly or have breathing issues.

What I do think you will see over the next few months is states beginning to open back up. The ones who are likely to support Trump will be open sooner than others with Florida and Georgia starting to lead the way. The obvious blue states will delay as long as possible holding out for more stimulus or giveaways, and the toss up states somewhere in between, depending on their governor.

I do think you will see some folks open their stores regardless of being “essential” or not. People will begin thumbing their nose at the order and for good reason. Most “non-essential” jobs paid a small paycheck April 1, for wages in the latter part of March; however, they got no check in April. May 1, when rent is due, is fast approaching. Sorry but that $1,200 payment from your great grandkids did nothing to improve your situation. If you’ve had to write a check for Federal taxes during the last two years, or didn’t file at all, then your direct deposit info is not on file with the IRS and you’re still waiting for the promised bucks from Uncle Sam. The virus may come back, or it may not, but the bottom line is folks are starting to get desperate. Owing 1 month of rent is one thing, but how about 2? Or 3? When does it stop? We stretch ourselves to the max as is, rent/mortgage, student loans, vehicle loans, credit card debt, keeping people out of work much longer will create a hostile situation. As recently as January, most Americans couldn’t handle a $400 cash emergency let alone have a three to six-month reserve.

In closing, please understand, if you are “essential” or a government worker who still gets paid, many people are not as fortunate as you. The economic upheaval from this will be felt for years. Think about the small business owner, hotel franchisee, or food service worker who was laid off. Now they are making a fraction of their former paycheck, or in some cases, they are making more if they got the $600 a weekly kicker from Uncle Sam. As far as essential businesses, this is a complete abomination of our Constitution. How is Planned Parenthood operating as “essential” but primary care physicians are not? Believe it or not, many healthcare professionals have lost their jobs as a result of the singular concentration on Corona virus. Why is the florist closed, but you can buy flowers at the grocery store? Game Stop is open? Petco is open? I am not sure who determined the criteria here, but I think tax dollars are part of the criteria as are campaign donations.

As far as cancelling your cable provider goes, frankly neither William nor I care, just as long as you understand that you are living in an echo chamber of your own design and are looking at a warped and distorted presentation of reality. Those talking heads on cable news networks, they make 7-8 figures a year, and live a very different life than you do. They have 1 primary job, to get ratings, which means higher advertising rates, and they are experts at what they do. How else can you explain to me why shelter in place is a good idea when it allows me to be at a park with 50 people simultaneously walking through it, at Home Depot with 500 people at it, or a grocery store traversing the aisles, essentially shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers? Try to vet the network/hosts/guests and shows you watch, just think about this closing point for a minute.

Here’s one illustration for you to consider. A colleague of mine consumes more cable in a day than William and I in a month combined. Back during the Oroville Dam crisis, I gave him daily updates on the spillway. He dismissed them as “this is the first time I’ve heard this” or “where do you get your news from?” Long story short, when the cable news channel he watches put out an emergency alert then the issue finally had his attention. Panic set in and he thought the best thing to do was get into a car and try to drive off to higher ground; all the while telling me to stay in place because it isn’t that big of a deal. In more current news, I told him the shelter in placed order would easily last through May, and likely into June, and he claimed, “he hadn’t heard that yet” and “stop checking BuzzFeed.” Yet here we are, 4/22 at press deadline time, and he is convinced Governor Newsom is opening commerce May 1, all because he hasn’t heard anything to the contrary. Too bad he can’t bother to listen to Newsom’s daily news conference for himself instead of wait to be told someone else’s interpretation of the highlights or he might know better.

Anyone want to take a bet that my colleague has a year’s supply of toilet paper, cleaning wipes, bleach, and non-perishable goods stocked up? While he and others cower at home not leaving, they build up fear and anxiety, all from shows they watch all day…on a continuous loop mind you. Yes, he lives in an echo chamber not paying attention to anything unless it is on cable…. oh, well. If you’ll allow me to rework the old proverb, a fool and his money are quickly parted, I have my own spin on it, a sheep who watches cable is easily fleeced.

Johnnie Does

Thoughts on Herd Immunity and Re-opening America

Folks more and more evidence is coming forth that the party line on Covid-19 is BS. Now that a flurry of antibody tests are hitting the market, the government is loosing control of the narrative. It used to be popular to say that facts are stubborn things…but only if you stop watching 24/7 news and pay attention to them.

Folks the trendline is unanimous and unmistakable, Covid-19 is just another flu. It has spread like crazy and not affected most people. I am aware that I’m not using “herd immunity” in the textbook definition of the word but I’m using the term to make the point that a huge number of people have “been there, done that” without any harm. Covid-19 has infected at least five percent of everyone in the country and in some populations, maybe as many as half.

Boston, MA

We in California have heard our Governor express concern for the homeless. Look at the statistics of homeless people in Boston.

A small cluster of coronavirus cases at a Boston homeless shelter prompted broadscale testing at the facility, and officials were shocked by the results.
Of nearly 400 people tested at the Pine Street Inn earlier this month, 146 people tested positive for the virus. None of those who tested positive showed symptoms, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin “actively looking into” the results.
“It was like a double knockout punch. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100% of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking,” said Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.
Nearly 150 people without symptoms test positive for coronavirus at homeless shelter

Oh, 146 of 400 is 36.5 percent positive for Covid-19 with no symptoms.

Los Angeles

An estimated 320,000 adults in Los Angeles County may have been infected with coronavirus, according to preliminary results of a study that suggests the illness is far more widespread than current testing shows and the death rate is much lower.
The study conducted April 10-11 by the county and the University of Southern California estimated that approximately 4.1% of the county’s adult population of 8 million has antibodies to the virus. When adjusted for margin of error, the infection rate ranged from 2.8% to 5.6%, or about 220,000 to 440,000 adults.
Los Angeles study suggests virus much more widespread

The novel coronavirus has infected roughly 4.1 percent of the population in California’s Los Angeles County, suggesting the region’s outbreak is far more widespread than previously thought, between 28 and 55 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, new research shows, echoing the findings of a similar study elsewhere in the state.
However, the new data, if accurate, also indicates that the coronavirus death rate in L.A. County, the most populous in the country, is lower than initially predicted.
L.A. County Study: Coronavirus Outbreak Up to 55 Times More Widespread, Less Deadly than Predicted

As I’ve shown over the last few days, many places that have tested for Covid-19 antibodies show about 36 percent of the sampled population has been infected and recovered.

Thoughts on Vaccine

So, will the antibody tests help speed-up reopening businesses and getting back to our normal life? I’m currently skeptical on this. If you listen to Governor Newsom and other governors in his political party, they keep holding out the narrative that things won’t go back to normal until there is a vaccine for Covid-19. Such thinking is tilting at windmills. Here’s my proof.

Me: When was the last time that you got the cold vaccine?

You: Never!

Me: Really? Why not?

You: Because there isn’t such a thing.

Me: Exactly my point.

The governors are holding out for something that may never exist in the real world. A few questions need to be asked.

Is this virus really worth developing a vaccine?

If so, does everyone need it?

Will side effects be worse that the disease?

On this question, I am being serious. Back in our history, when some strain of swine flu was a thing, a new shiny vaccine came out that was fast-tracked and untested but given to the masses with an “everybody needs to have it urgency.” Well, my aunt was one of the first to get it. As a result of receiving the vaccine, she experienced paralysis and other side effects for about ten days. Knowing this, do you still want to be first for the Covid-19 vaccine?

Other note on side effects, the government will indemnify (grant immunity of product liability) to whoever gets the contract to manufacture and distribute said vaccine, if one is ever created. So, if the vaccine has side effects including death, you have no legal recourse. Do you still want to be the Guinea pig and get it first?

Re-Opening California

From the snippets of Governor Newsom’s press conferences that I’ve listen to lately, he plans to maintain status quote—hiding in place and business closures thru at least June. Can we really afford such a shutdown? Yes, he uses weasel words but a shutdown thru May is a certainty and June is looking like more of the same. Truly the cure is far worse than the disease.

With such timidity, this guy will squander any hopes of running for the White House and being a serious contender. Gavin needs to show leadership instead of hiding behind unelected public health officials. And please don’t fall for the line that “if it saves just one life…”all you need to blow-up that sentimental BS is remember that the churches are closed and Planned Parenthood is open for killing—even via mail order.

Oh, as of last week, the State of California is unwilling to recognize any antibody tests as valid for diagnostic or statistical purposes. In short, they want to ignore their existence or validity because it hurts their narrative. However, once they find a way to use such testing to political advantage look for this policy to flip on a dime. Given the magnitude of what’s happening, its bad when the FDA is out in front of the states claiming to be the leaders of the best academic and research schools in the nation.

As Newsom ponders what to do, here’s one for you to ponder. What if Apple or some other tech giant says, we’re moving to Austin to work until California decides to reopen then we’ll evaluate our options? Does a Hollywood studio dare to re-open in Vancouver because they can’t work in California? Do you see what a problem this is? Many jobs can be moved where they’re wanted. Being in California is nice but not a necessity for many.

If you live in California, New York, Massachusetts, or some other liberal state just remember that those deciding your fate now are in government because they couldn’t succeed in the private sector. Figuring how to un-ring the bell and get America working is a tough knot for those in a political party that thinks the government exists to create jobs.

Democrats Not Letting a Crisis go to Waste

The Covid-19 crisis has been a game changer for the Left. Between the media, the cable watchers, and the Democrat elected we have a crisis that has given them a green light to push their agenda on us. Keep in mind, as of the press deadline for this submission, we have had 30,000 nationwide die of Covid-19. I suspect in some jurisdictions they are willy-nilly adding to the number with the lack of testing available. Keep in mind; suicide, the flu, alcoholism, and drug overdoses kill more than double that number in any given year. As a direct result we may be flattening the curve however we are flattening the economy as well.

William had a great line at the end of his last blog, take another look. “Folks, I hardly watch any television but seeing the behavior of those that do is always a treat. The insanity I witness (and overhear) at work and in the grocery store check-out line is breathtakingly uninformed.” I could not agree with this statement more. I will expand on this thought as well.

Keep this in mind, it wasn’t Trump, Senators, Governors, or House members who shut the individual states down. In the case of California, we had local (Sacramento) county director of Health Services Peter Beilenson order the shutdown of the county. Beilenson if you look at his record, is an unelected bureaucrat who is void of much actual medical work. Think doctor’s office, hospital, etc. Why was he allowed to shut a county down? And why at the same news conference was he asked zero questions by our elected DA, Sheriff or Board of Supervisors? It was a sight to behold. Hours later Governor Newsom after many other counties announced shutdowns decided to shut the state down. Believe it or not this actually made sense because it’s pointless to shut down one county, yet the neighboring ones remain open. I still didn’t agree with it from a constitutional viewpoint, but alas here we are today. New York and California led, and pretty much every additional state followed and fell in line. What happened next was draconian and far more damaging than this virus will ever be.

When a governor orders a shutdown, as the chief law enforcement officer, he has unchecked authority. Gyms, schools, business, and anything else declared un-essential was shut instantly. Don’t believe me, go for a walk and look yourself, you cannot get your hair cut now. Worse yet, different groups and business were deemed essential and had to continue operations as usual, despite the affect this virus could have on your health. Full disclosure, my work is “essential” and I am being paid my regular salary and am working from the office. Restaurants are to go only and have laid off countless staff. Local Park districts have removed the basketball hoops at the local park, even though our property tax dollars are supposed to keep the park in ship shape. Many small businesses will never re-open, many laid off will never find full employment in their respective fields for a long time.

We had to pass funding assistance in the form of a stimulus, and we did so with so much haste it will prove ineffective. We didn’t help current out of work folks, we helped those based on last year’s tax returns, without regard to who is and isn’t still being paid to work or stay home. This however was just one step. In recent days Democrats have proposed a $2,000 per month payment to everyone in the US until the unemployment rate reaches pre-recession levels. The Democrat governors of Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and other states have extended shutdowns without regard to actual medical advice. The small business loan stimulus program is out of money, and in recent days banks have shut off the new mortgage/refinance spigots fearing a full-blown catastrophe is coming. Governor Newsom is now going to give illegal immigrant folks $500 a week, for I’m not sure how long, keep in mind that regular folks are not eligible for this program.

Let’s talk about individual governors and policy makers for a little bit. Governor Whitmer in Michigan has made headlines by thumbing her nose and angering her own citizens with shelter in place laws. Specifically picking which activities folks could and could not do, some examples include you could buy weed, lottery tickets, and booze but you cannot partake in buying lumber, fishing, or seeds. I would venture to say there is a direct correlation between being allowed to purchase the goods, and the amount of sales tax levied on said goods. A revolt ensued and all she could do was double down, acting like a tyrant, which is ironic as the left has been calling Trump a tyrant since day 1.

How about releasing “non-violent” criminals from our jails? I thought here in California we already had done this? Now I guess they have set bail at $0 for certain offenses because they don’t want folks who break the law to be exposed to Covid-19 in jail. A criminal in Stockton has already been re-arrested twice after being bonded out on $0 bail, and a criminal in Florida was released on zero bail and murdered someone. At Least this crisis has not gone to waste.

As far as policy makers go, noticeably absent during this pandemic are the so called “libertarian and conservative types” think Rand Paul, Matt Gaetz, and Ben Sasse. Why haven’t they been front and center asking why a governor or president thinks they have the authority to shut an entire state/country down? How come someone who claims to be a patriot, or a leader of common folks won’t take these leftists to court? Maybe someone on cable already addressed this, but I cannot understand why these folks are cowering in their basements doing interviews via skype while our rights are being trampled.

Bottom line is the Democrats are showing their hand early, making sure the world knows how they intend on governing if they win the White House and control Congress. Picking winners and losers and declaring full on lock downs will be the new normal. The condescending pressers, and remarks are the tip of the iceberg. Also notice how un-elected folks are now making major economic decisions? Why is it we elect folks to govern yet when they turn to a “specialist” we hang on there every word? Look at this Dr. Beilenson, Dr. Fauci, and others. Take a look at this “University Of Washington virus death model” notice how we went from 2 million deaths in the USA, to 500k, then 200k, now we don’t even hear the projections anymore as these modelers made the local weatherman look accurate.

In closing I will add this, harkening back to William’s earlier quote, take a step back and actively listen while you are in a grocery store or at a restaurant for takeout or market. Look at how some folks are spewing information that is absolutely off-base, yet it is taken as gospel since it was said on the news by someone with MD after their name or a salutation of DR before it. Be forewarned.

Chief

Why are we Throwing away Milk?

By The Chief

I have heard this question asked by a few people, and to be frank it is probably one of the most ignorant things one can ask. This had to have origins with the cable or 90-day crowd because the idea that farmers would dump hundreds of thousands of gallons of milk “just because” is at best absurd. Just to be sure I called an uncle of mine in Iowa who is a dairy farmer serving my old reservation to get his side of this story.

He actually was more than willing to discuss this issue and clarified quite a bit, now the cable crowd likely won’t listen but here is a snippet of what he had to say.

Why are you dumping gallons of milk?

Several reasons, first we have had spectacular decline in the milk category for a while, and it has been sped up by bankruptcies of two of the largest milk companies in the US. Second, most dairies are set up with contracts to sell their milk to processors that serve only a few customers/industries. For example if we are selling to a grocery store processor we are doing one/one and a half-half gallon cartons, schools and jails are likely quart/pint cartons, and restaurants are larger containers and quantities. With the shutdown of schools/universities/ball parks/theatres etc., demand has evaporated. So as a result, that processor won’t buy any additional milk from me.

The next big issue is that my cows must be milked every so often, so they can remain on a schedule, this is similar to a human body when it develops routine. I must keep my cattle on routine so if demand picks up I can stay on schedule, you cannot run into a situation where the supplier needs more, and you are unable to provide. As a result, you are seeing the dumping take place.

Can’t you sell to a different supplier/processor?

Not necessarily. Some have very lucrative contracts with Wal-Mart, school districts etc. and for deals like those they are likely exclusive, and repercussions are huge for going behind them and selling to others. Also keep in mind when you are flooded with excess likely the other dairies are as well. Subsidies from the federal government also play a role in this as far as how many gallons can be produced etc. similar to crops.

Can the excess be donated to a food bank?

In a word no. Unprocessed milk is not safe for human consumption. This would be a good way for the USDA to shut you down for good. Also, most plastic has been diverted to use to make ventilators, so keep that in mind too.

Any additional comments you want to pass on?

Key thing to remember is the processing and packaging plants are broken down; commercial/restaurant/school etc. They are all different. Right now we have finally caught up on the grocery store inventory issue we had initially it seems. The restaurant/commercial is having huge backlogs as a result of takeout/to go only, this reduced demand substantially, and as a result bulk buyers like Sysco have almost stopped taking deliveries. Those plants have been mostly idled. Other plants may be running full speed, but you must remember the lines at those plants are only set up to run for so long, and to produce certain quantities in specific containers. You cannot think of these places like other production lines where you could focus on a different part of the chicken/pork or beef by the day. The amount of time and money needed to convert the equipment, re-configure the line and train employees. Also keep in mind the employee part; if the virus breaks out and people at the plant are getting sick, they are not going to show up.

Farmers/ranchers are all feeling the pain right now, as you have seen chickens are being killed since the demand is down due to restaurant closures, vegetables are being plowed in the field and turned into a fertilizer. This is all due to a slowdown affecting the entire supply chain, the answers are not as easy as convert the plant, use cardboard instead of plastic etc. We will get through this, but we need normalization to commence at some point.

Chief

The Knights and the Catholic Church Are Ruined

By Jake the Snake

I celebrated Easter this past weekend like most religious folks try to do. I woke up, poured a cup of coffee, sat on my couch, and logged into a “live stream” Easter service. To be very frank, this was the most forced, pathetic let down I have witnessed in my years on this earth. Allow me to explain.

First our head priest “abandoned the flock” by returning to the Philippines to mourn a relative who had passed. I do not take issue with his mourning, as that is not my place, but the timing was horrific. It left our associate priest in charge, and with English being his 2nd or third language I feel he takes a back seat on everything that doesn’t involve the Spanish mass. The music was live played recordings from YouTube….yes, we even got treated to the commercial advertising prior to the songs being played. After the homily (sermon) I had to turn it off, it may have been a valiant effort, and the devil was likely smiling at my decision, but it looked forced. The priest was literally reading his homily off an iPad, and during the hymns he had a mono-toned voice, which again seemed very forced.

I was a little taken aback that we never were treated to the typical Christmas and Easter ode where the priest apologizes to all the folks who only show up to mass twice a year. It’s honestly a tradition unlike any other…and I’m not talking about the Master’s. It’s hard to fathom but yes, most all Catholic Priests apologize in hopes these folks will start showing up weekly to service….it never occurs. I never understood why someone would eschew the regulars in hopes that a couple additional folks will resume full attendance at mass.

Sadly it all boils down to $$$. More folks in the pews = more $$$ on the plate, and more money in the bank account. That being said, I was more taken aback by an email I received from the Bishop of Northern California Diocese. I will paraphrase and not include the email, but it talked about “tithing” which is a “highly suggested amount of required giving to the church of your before tax salary.” I literally was stunned. While I do not pretend to know anything about this Covid-19, I do know this, people are scared, and church has been closed for about 4 weeks now. A closed church means very, very little money donated. I feel for the church, even though ours is not struggling; we have almost 2 million in the bank. However this has to be one of the more tone deaf things I have heard. We have almost 22 million folks nationwide unemployed, most of which are all in the same sectors, meaning their unemployment is going to be long term. I thought churches were supposed to charitable. Why is it we have shut down entirely, yet we demand folks….check that….guilt trip folks to keep giving? I hate to say this but when an economic crisis like this occurs, folks need to take care of themselves, and I hate to break it to clergy folks, but at the moment, you are not the most important thing in people’s lives. Homes, cars, and food on the table are far, far more important. Church giving, and other charitable giving are optional.

However an organization I love to beat up on outdid the “Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Church” I’m talking about the Knights of Cash…. I mean Columbus. Check this out. Our first vow, one of charity should be in full force right now. Our local food bank has made a desperate call for volunteers, and donations; for both food and money. However this plea fell on deaf ears. Instead, both the state office and the supreme office have sent out email blast upon email blast saying now is the best time to recruit new members. Think about that one for a minute, rather than actually do some good and help the folks who actually need it, at the local level, we are being told to recruit???? Increasingly I have begun to be distant with this cult, as I feel it has turned into a pyramid type scheme. Seriously only an organization led by an incompetent jackhole like Lee Ann Harper could possibly think this is a smart idea.

Not to be outdone, here at the local level, we were going to have a ceremony to promote to the 4th degree, this ceremony requires folks to pack in shoulder to shoulder in a church…again this is mostly older folks mind you. For a day long ceremony, followed by a banquet, where the usual folks promote themselves for sainthood all while this virus is killing folks in this demographic group! Yes you cannot make this up….even doing this over the priest’s objections! When the event was finally cancelled, the email focused more on how upset the leadership was that the recruits would now count toward next Columbian Years numbers! I swear these folks must all belong to a local Amway chapter; the absolute lack of common sense is befuddling to me. Again, this virus seems to kill folks who are elderly, which happens to be the age of all our new recruits…. but what’s a few lives when a silver star for recruiting is at stake.

It’s very disappointing to me. Great moments come from great opportunity, and while I won’t say Covid-19 is a great opportunity, it has presented a challenge for which the Church or the Knights could shine. Instead both have decided to ignore the Bible and its teachings and put money and recruitment above all else. How tone deaf can you be? While in the midst of a crisis, you are guilt tripping folks into giving money while not having the compassion to understand this economic depression that we are entering into is wrecking families. No one at my church, or my Knights Council will be lifting a finger to help those in need, and frankly why should they? The lesson seems to be that money should be hoarded and, in such times,, who the heck cares about the needy or charity? Maybe the Bishop should question why Planned Parenthood gets to remain open rather than asking us to reach deeper into our wallets? Maybe he should come out of his ivory tower and recommend we help at the local level, set our swords and shields down for a minute, and volunteer? What better tool for candidate recruiting or growing the church or Knights Council than needy folks seeing local groups step up? You know like the Rotarians, or Elks? The church may be in for a day of reckoning soon and not just falling membership…. changes to Prop 13 and our tax-exempt status may be coming soon. You think the state/county/local government wouldn’t love getting a piece of that 2 million?

Jake the Snake

Editor’s Note:
Jake this change in religious practice was all predicted 16 years ago. At the time we thought it was a joke but considering that Bill Gates is at the epicenter of the pandemic modeling that closed your church maybe…

“we will make the sacraments available on-line for the first time”

“You can get Communion, confess your sins, receive absolution — even reduce your time in Purgatory — all without leaving your home.”
Microsoft acquires the Catholic Church